| The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry | |
|---|---|
Badge of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry |
|
| Active | 1 July 1881 – 5 October 1959 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Role | Light Infantry |
| Size | 1–2 Regular Battalions 1 Militia and Special Reserve Battalion |
| Garrison/HQ | Victoria Barracks, Bodmin[1] |
| Colors | White facings |
| March | Quick: One and All |
The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. Its lineage is continued today by The Rifles.
The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd (Cornwall Light Infantry) Regiment of Foot and the 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot.[2] The DCLI also incorporated the militia and rifle volunteers of Cornwall.[3][4][5]
In 1959 the regiment merged with the Somerset Light Infantry to form the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry.[4]
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Under the Childers system, one regular battalion of each regiment was to be at a "home" station, while the other was abroad. Every few years, there was to be an exchange of battalions. In the period from the regiment's formation to the outbreak of the Second Boer War the two regular battalions were stationed as follows:
| Location of 1st Battalion (ex 32nd Foot)[6] | Years | Location of 2nd Battalion (ex 46th Foot)[7] | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| England and Ireland | 1881–1885 | Gibraltar | 1881–1882 |
| Egypt | 1882–1885 | ||
| Malta | 1885–1888 | Sudan | 1885–1886 |
| India and Burma (fought in Tirah Campaign of 1897) | 1888–1900 | England and Ireland | 1886–1900 |
In October 1899 war broke out between the United Kingdom and the Boer Republics. The 2nd Battalion arrived in South Africa in the following month, where it took part in minor actions on the western border of the Cape Colony. In February 1900 it became part of the 19th Brigade. It saw action against the Boers at Paardeburg, and in March 1900 entered Bloemfontein. It continued to take part in a series of skirmishes until the end of the war.[8] The 1st Battalion took no part on the war, moving from India to Ceylon in 1900 where its soldiers guarded South African prisoners of war.[6]
Following the war in South Africa, the system of rotating battalions between home and foreign stations resumed as follows:
| Location of 1st Battalion (ex 32nd Foot)[6] | Years | Location of 2nd Battalion (ex 46th Foot)[7] | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 1902–1906 | England | 1902–1905 |
| England | 1906–1913 | Gibraltar | 1905–1907 |
| Bermuda | 1907–1910 | ||
| South Africa | 1910–1913 | ||
| Ireland (The Curragh) | 1913–1914 | Hong Kong | 1913–1914 |
The 1881 reorganisation also redesignated the militia and rifle volunteers of Cornwall as battalions of the regiment as follows:[9]
Neither militia nor volunteer battalions were liable for service outside the United Kingdom. However, during the Second Boer War, both volunteer battalions contributed "Active Service Companies" that reinforced the regular battalions, and were awarded the battle honour "South Africa 1900–1901".[10]
In 1908 reserve forces were reorganised by the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (the Haldane Reforms). The militia was renamed the "Special Reserve", with the duty of providing trained recruits in time of war. The volunteer battalions became part of the new Territorial Force, which was organised into 14 infantry divisions which were called upon to serve abroad.[11] On 1 April 1908 the three reserve battalions were accordingly redesignated as the 3rd (Special Reserve), 4th (Territorial Force) and 5th (Territorial Force) Battalions, DCLI.[12]
The war saw a large expansion of the regiment. This was done in two ways: by the formation of duplicate units to the existing territorial battalions, and by the raising of wartime "New Army" or Service battalions. The following battalions of the DCLI saw active service in the conflict:[13]
| Battalion | Service |
|---|---|
| 1st Battalion | Western Front 1914–1917; Italian Front 1917–1918; Western Front 1918 |
| 2nd Battalion | Western Front 1914–1915; Macedonian Front 1915–1918 |
| 1/4th Battalion | India 1914–1916; Aden 1916–1917; Egypt 1917–1918 |
| 2/4th Battalion | (Formed September 1914) India 1914–1918 |
| 1/5th Battalion | Remained in UK until 1916. Western Front 1916–1918 |
| 6th (Service) Battalion | (Formed August 1914) Western Front 1915–1918 (disbanded February 1918) |
| 7th (Service) Battalion | (Formed September 1914) Western Front 1915–1918 |
| 8th (Service) Battalion | (Formed September 1914) Western Front 1915; Mesopotamian Front 1915–1918 |
| 10th (Service) Battalion (Cornwall Pioneers) | (Formed March 1915) Western Front 1916–1918 |
| Years | 1st Battalion[6] | Years | 2nd Battalion[7] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1919–1922 | Ireland | 1919–1920 | India |
| 1922–1939 | India | ||
| 1920–1921 | Iraq | ||
| 1921–1922 | Ireland | ||
| 1922–1924 | Germany (Army of occupation) | ||
| 1924–1927 | Guernsey | ||
| 1927–1932 | England | ||
| 1932–1935 | Gibraltar | ||
| 1935–1939 | England |
In 1944 Hill 112 in Normandy acquired the name "Cornwall Hill" after Cornish soldiers of 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry suffered 320 casualties in the fighting there.
The original barracks in Bodmin houses the regimental museum, founded in 1925. It includes the history of the regiment from 1702, plus a military library. There is a fine collection of small arms and machine guns, plus maps, uniforms and paintings on show. Included in the display are the medals of Harry Patch, the last British survivor of the First World War.[14] and the VC awarded to Herbert Augustine Carter for gallantry in Somaliland in 1903.
Bodmin Parish Church was the regimental place of worship where there are memorials to some of the servicemen and regimental colours from the past.
Surfing Tommies is a 2009 play by the Cornish author Alan M. Kent which follows the lives of three members of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry on a journey from the mines of Cornwall to the fields of Flanders, where they learned to surf with South African troops.[15]
Eight soldiers of the DCLI were awarded the VC including: